Busy Weekend and Lazy Monday

Now that I'm not working, my body seems to have found a comfortable schedule of falling asleep at 2am and waking up at 11am. This really has to stop. I sure am enjoying it while it lasts though. I'm sure a Body Pump class at 6 am would cure me. :)

Saturday afternoon (when I'd been up for exactly 2 hours) I met up with Sara at the farmer's market downtown. I hadn't been in YEARS and didn't quite know where to begin. There were so many stands of fresh produce, jewelry, even one stand that had these pretty serving spoons. I might have to go back and get one for my mom. I only brought a small amount of cash so that I wouldn't overspend.

First I bought some kale:

I love greens!

Collard greens are my favorite (thanks to my family in Alabama and yes I also like black eyed peas). I knew that dark leafy greens were a good source of iron so I wondered what the other health benefits were. According to Wikipedia, it is also a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and Caroteniods (which provide Vitamin A). Usually, I steam them and add a little red wine vinegar but I'm going to try a new recipe so stay tuned.

Next up:

Blue cheese dressing to DIE for!

It's made by a company called Boise Bleu and there is nothing like it. I could probably drink the whole jar. Instead I politely gobbled up a handful of carrots dipped in it.

Lastly, some locally made granola bars. I just love local businesses.

Scott's Loaded Granola Bars

Triple Berry, Pistachio Cherry, Blackberry Lime

Then we went to the Co-op and had a lovely lunch outside.

I got the chicken salad sandwich with lettuce, red onion, sprouts and tomato. They make the best sandwiches.

I did some shopping at the Co-op and headed home.

PB Puffins, coconut flour, spelt bread, white chocolate syrup, Amy's stuffed pasta shells and agave. I'm a sugar fiend, I know.

At home, I immediately tested out the white chocolate syrup with strawberries.

Num. Num. The syrup is not thick and heavy so it wasn't overpowering at all. Just the perfect touch of sweetness.

I also bought some flowers to spruce up our house.

These go inside:

Aren't orchids gorgeous?

These go in the front yard:

Still have to plant these babies!

These were already in the front yard but I thought they were pretty:

Does anyone know what they are? I'd like to go get some more for the back yard.

These did go in the back yard:

I skipped pilates today (gasp!) but I did mow the lawn which is just as good. It's nice to be outside. I need a hammock so I can take an afternoon nap out there. :) Horray for summer days!

How did you spend your weekend?

What are some of your favorite local products?

A little of this, a little of that!

This is a bit of a long one, so get comfy!

Recently, I've seen several blogs about Trader Joe's egg white salad. Wow, that sounds great! Let me drive over to the nearest Trader Joe's to pick that up-- oh wait. There isn't one near me. :'(

So I struck out on my own to google such a recipe. This One was my main inspiration. I read through the ingredient lists of some and then examined what was available in my fridge. I combined finely chopped celery, cucumber, chives, egg whites from 12 boiled eggs, squirt of Miracle Whip, two heaping spoonfuls of Greek yogurt, salt, freshly ground pepper, onion powder and after much hesitation, a small dollop of dijon mustard (not pictured).

Then I took a potato masher and mixed/mashed the eggs and everything. Then I thought to myself: something is missing still. Then it hit me what my friend Sara says: "Everything is better with Laughing Cow" Why yes, Sara, everything IS better with Laughing Cow! I mashed in two wedges of the garlic and herb flavor.

Not going to lie here, when I mixed it all together, I looked at and thought, what have I done? I was NOT sure about how this would taste. You can't learn unless you try though, right?

So I gathered up what was left of my pride, toasted a piece of bread, added some spinach and put together the sandwich.

It was GOOD! I credit the onion powder, slight hint of dijon and of course Laughing Cow.

Breakfast the next morning was pretty red and white waffles:

Whole wheat waffles with a smear of Brummel and Brown butter, tons of sliced strawberries and a little bit of Tru Whip. I am more of a savory breakfast person, so I also had some scrambled egg whites.

I'm so classy, I wiped my strawberry hands on my t-shirt...

That night, I had a dear friend of mine over for dinner. I went for simple but delicious!

Oven Roasted Yukon Golds

Green Salad

Romaine, spinach, shredded carrot, cucumber, orange bell pepper, tomato, romano, parmesan and asiago cheese blend and freshly ground pepper.

Broiled Chicken Thighs

They're better on the BBQ, but ours isn't set up yet, and the broiler is SO underrated!

This is the simplest, most delicious marinade I know of. When my brother and I were little we were allergic to citrus fruit, peanuts, chocolate and tomatoes. We were lucky to outgrow them, but since we were allergic to tomatoes, most BBQ sauce was out of the picture. So this is how we ate "BBQ" chicken.

Soy Marinade

1/4 c. lower sodium soy sauce

2 tbs canola oil

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

I usually just mix them right in the mixing cup with a whisk or fork and then pour them over my chicken in a dish. Marinate for 15 to 30 min then cook up! I can't stress how good this is and it's so simple you MUST try it!

Afterwards, we went to see Battle of the Titans. I loved it! We stopped by the Cheesecake factory on the way home for dessert.

Red velvet and cheesecake, rich but delicious. Here's what they boxed up, I made though maybe a third of it. It took me three sittings to finish it. I could have gobbled up the left overs the next day, but I really wanted to savor and enjoy it.

I had leftovers for lunch the next day only I added some kalamata olives and artichoke hearts to my salad.

That night Sara came over and we watched Twilight. Can you believe she hadn't seen it? We both had been wanting to try banana soft serve that we'd read about on so many blogs, but our bananas weren't quite frozen enough. It still turned out to be a tasty treat.

I added fresh strawberries, Tru Whip and Caramel syrup to mine.

In case you haven't noticed I LOVE strawberries. They are my very favorite fruit. I buy huge flats at a time from CostCo and devour them by themselves, with Tru Whip, a little white chocolate syrup, in smoothies, or on waffles. Mmmm...

Tomorrow I'm off to browse the farmer's market, shop at the Co-op and do some yardwork!

What is your favorite summer fruit?

What combination do you like in smoothies? I stick to strawberry banana. Sometimes if I'm feeling adventurous, I also add a splash of OJ.

What are your weekend plans?

Amy's Anyone?

Firstly, thank you for your comments! Being new at this, I gasp and do a happy dance when I notice that people have commented on my posts. Because that means someone is actually reading them. THANK YOU!! :)

What I love about Amy's is they use mostly organic ingredients, don't have a long ingredient list full of things I can't pronounce, no bioengineered ingredients, no MSG and rBST free milk product.

Amy's Vegetable Lasagna

I saw a post today on Can You Stay For Dinner about a vegetable lasagna, so while I was picking up a few groceries, I snagged this.

Why can't it ever look as good as the picture on the box? Oh well.

Normally, I don't include ingredient lists but this one is worth a look:

Well, it TASTED yummy. :) Spinach and zucchini are two of my favorite green vegetables and I could barely wait for it to cool down before I dug in. Two thumbs up. I will definitely be picking this up again for a quick meal.

Amy's Black Bean Vegetable Soup

I'm not sure what I was expecting this to be, but it wasn't what I expected. Maybe I thought it would have a bit more of a kick. It kind of reminded me of glorified mashed black beans with corn and carrots. I'd still give it one thumb up, but it was a little bland.

Do you like Amy's products? If so, what is your favorite? What is your favorite go-to quick meal?

All Play, No Work!

This was my first week of freedom! So I made a goal this week, but I didn't tell anyone. Well, I probably mentioned it to my Honey, and maybe my fab new gym buddy.

I'd gotten really out of the habit of exercising, so I'm trying to get back into a routine! It seems if I can get into the gym Monday, I'm set the rest of the week.

Monday- Hour of pilates class with Whitney at the gym. This lady doesn't mess around and I love ever minute of it! Even if I feel like I'm going to die 15 minutes in. :)

Tuesday- Went for a 1.5 mile run on the track with my doggie, Hunter. Not super long, but I did a faster pace since I wasn't doing a long run. My Nike+ said I set a new record for myself for the fastest km yet! Alright!

Wednesday- Let me make this clear: I am. Not. In ANY way. A morning person. That said, I got up SUPER early at 5:30 (AM) and went to a weight training class called Body Pump with Laura my new gym buddy. It was great! I was glad I got myself up and to had my workout done for the day. And I'm pretty sure that my biceps are bigger. Almost positive!

Thursday- Allergy attack!! Ugh. I stayed on the couch blowing my nose all day. No fun.

Friday- Still a little sniffly. Took a nice long walk with Hunter.

Saturday- I planned to go to the gym for a nice sweat session, but then I got a call to go ride my dirt bike! For the record, riding a dirt bike is a LOT more exercise than it looks. Those bikes are HEAVY. It's physically and mentally EXHAUSTING. There's so much to think about it, and when I get into a rough patch, I have to talk myself through it and remain calm, even if I'm freaked about wrecking. It was still a short ride, and I didn't have any major spills like the last time I rode. I thought that I was going to have a big crash, but I managed to slow down, hang on, and make it through some rough terrain! :D

After biking, I looked out my back window to see that my lawn was growing taller by the hour. Two hours of weeding, picking up doggie poo and mowing later, I had definitely gotten my exercise for the day.

Sunday- Since for me, Sunday is a day of rest, I don't do any workouts, but walking is perfectly acceptable! So I took a nice little walk just under 2 miles.

So I'm super proud of myself for having a great week!

What fitness goals will you set for yourself this week/month? What's your alternate form of exercise (a.ka. mowing the lawn, yardwork, etc.)?

Debbie Meyer Green Bags

I'm still eating my way out of all the leftovers from cooking, so today let's delve into my #1 kitchen item I can't live without:

Debbie Meyer Green Bags (about $10 bucks for 10 medium and 10 large)

I use these for spinach because I always get halfway through a bag and then it turns to slime. Ugh. I use them for half of a bell pepper, chopped romaine lettuce, cucumber, strawberries, you name it. They actually work! I can proudly say that I buy twice as much spinach and use ALL of it. :D

The best part is that these are SO easy to quickly wash out, dry and reuse.

I wasn't sure how these would work out, I'm skeptical about any "As Seen On TV" product, but I tried them out on a whim. And I haven't gone back.

Do you use Green Bags? What is your #1 kitchen item?

Two Quick Book Reviews

I'm changing the way I do my book reviews. If you want to know how they turn out, you'll have to read up!

Catching Fire- This is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss and Peeta continue their facade of being star crossed lovers as they tour the twelve districts. A shocking surprise at the final district is their worst nightmare: to return to the games with other past winners. I still liked the Hunger Games better, but this was definitely a page turner!

The Art of Racing in the Rain- This book started out alright, written from a dog's perspective of the world. He wishes he could speak, and that he has opposable thumbs. Then things take a dark turn. Much of the book was about the illness of his master's wife, serious criminal allegations and a bitter battle for custody of Denny' s daughter. As much as I enjoyed Marley and Me, I was truly disappointed with this book. Though the ending was very sweetly wrapped up.

Have you read either Catching Fire or The Art of Racing in the Rain? What did you think of them? What are your recent favorite reads?

Viva La Vegetables!

Pardon my horrible French. ;)

Today was my first day of freedom from work. Man, I miss having the summers off.

I started the morning at oh, 11:30 AM? Truth is, I woke up about 9:30 then laid in bed talking to my Honey and playing around on my new laptop.

So when I finally got up I was off to a late (but wonderful) start. Breakfast was a quick bowl of Fiber One Honey Clusters with half soy and half non fat organic milk. Though it is fine by itself, I like it better with bananas. Everything is better with bananas. (Note to self: buy bananas!)

With breakfast being so late, I didn't sit down to lunch until about 4. For lunch I had some cheese pizza and a spinach salad with orange bell pepper, organic shredded carrot, and cucumber.

Also two small and delicious peaches with some light vanilla Activia yogurt, topped with Grape Nuts. My Honey likes to call Grape Nuts gravel. I actually really, really like them though. :)

There was a little bit of brownie and some vanilla yogurt blends ice cream a little later...

And then to pilates! The Monday night instructor kicks my butt every time! I was one of the last to come in, so I got to be right at the front. :)

Dinner was done just before 9 pm. I had been looking forward to trying this recipe for a while, and finally FINALLY had a chance (and all the ingredients) to put it together.

Taco-Stuffed Pepper Cups

(adapted from Dashing Dish)

2 medium bell peppers, any color

1/2 pound lean ground beef (she used ground turkey, but I was craving beef)

2 tbs chopped onion

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 c. salsa (I used peach pineapple salsa, though it seems like a strange choice, it blended well with the other flavors)

3 tbs. taco seasoning

1/4 c. reduced fat cheddar cheese (I accidentally picked up fat free, which worked in a pinch, but kind of tastes like plastic)

1/4 plain greek yogurt (it's a great replacement for sour cream!)

shredded lettuce

sliced black olives

1. Preheat oven to 350. Wash bell peppers, cut out tops, and remove seeds. Boil for about 3 minutes, remove and immediately rinse with cold water. Slice each pepper in half and arrange in a lightly greased baking dish.

2. Spray large pan with olive oil cooking spray, and turn to medium high heat. Add onion and ground beef until the ground beef is no longer pink. Add black beans, corn, salsa and taco seasoning. Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Spoon mixture into each pepper half, (for some reason I ended up with a lot left over, but not to worry, I can make taco salad with the leftovers!) top with cheese and back on the upper rack for about 10 minutes.

4. Once the peppers are removed from the oven, I added greek yogurt, lettuce and olives.

I also made slow roasted sweet potatoes, which was surprisingly complimentary to the stuffed peppers. Lots of color and lots of veggies!

Unfortunately, you can't see much of the pepper in this photo. Moving on.

For a little bedtime snack, I had a bran muffin with some butter, and a glass of chocolate milk. Mmmm!

Do you like Grape Nuts? Do you ever replace sour cream with Greek yogurt?